Michael Obafemi

Michael Oluwadurotimi Obafemi (born 6 July 2000) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Burnley and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Michael Obafemi
Personal information
Full name Michael Oluwadurotimi Obafemi[1]
Date of birth (2000-07-06) 6 July 2000
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Burnley
Number 45
Youth career
2009–2010 Ryan[3][4]
2010–2012 Chelsea[3]
2012–2014 Arsenal[3]
2014–2015 Watford[3][4]
2015–2016 Leyton Orient[3][4]
2016–2018 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Southampton 32 (4)
2021–2023 Swansea City 51 (15)
2023 → Burnley (loan) 12 (2)
2023– Burnley 0 (0)
International career‡
2017–2018 Republic of Ireland U19 3 (1)
2019–2020 Republic of Ireland U21 5 (0)
2018– Republic of Ireland 11 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:39, 3 May 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:59, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Obafemi was born in Dublin to Nigerian parents. While he was still an infant, his family moved to England and he was raised in the London area.[4][5] His older brother Afolabi Obafemi is also a footballer.[3]

Club career

Obafemi was released by Watford prior to his 14th birthday in 2014. He took a year out of the game before joining Leyton Orient in 2015, moving on to Southampton in 2016.[6]

Southampton

Obafemi made his professional debut for Southampton as a substitute in the 82nd minute of a 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 21 January 2018.[7] Aged 17 years and 199 days, Obafemi became the second youngest player to make a Premier League appearance for Southampton after Luke Shaw, who was 17 years and 116 days old.[8]

He scored his first professional goal with the third goal in a 3–1 victory at Huddersfield on 22 December 2018; at 18 years and 169 days old, he became Southampton's youngest scorer in the Premier League.[9]

Swansea City

On 31 August 2021, Obafemi joined Swansea City for a fee reported to be between £1.5 and £2 million, signing a three-year contract.[10] On 23 October 2021, Obafemi scored his first goal for Swansea in their 2–1 defeat to Birmingham City.[11]

On Summer Deadline Day 2022, Swansea rejected a number of bids from Burnley for Obafemi with the striker subsequently being left out of the team with concerns from manager Russell Martin over the striker's attitude.[12]

Burnley (loan)

On 29 January 2023, Obafemi joined Burnley on loan for the remainder of the season, with a clause to make the transfer permanent at the end of the season.[13][14]

International career

Obafemi was eligible to represent England, Nigeria, and the Republic of Ireland.[15] In November 2018 he committed to the Republic of Ireland.[16]

Obafemi represented the Republic of Ireland at under-19 level, debuting during the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification campaign.[17]

On 6 November 2018, Obafemi was named in the senior Republic of Ireland squad for the first time for the friendly against Northern Ireland on 15 November and the UEFA Nations League match against Denmark on 19 November 2018.[18][19] He came on as a substitute in the second half of the 0–0 draw against Denmark to make his debut.[20] He also became the first player born in the 2000s to win a senior cap for Ireland.[21] Obafemi made his debut for the Republic of Ireland under-21 team on 10 October 2019, coming off the bench, in a 0–0 draw with Italy under-21s at Tallaght Stadium.[22]

On 11 June 2022, he made his first international start at senior level, in a UEFA Nations League match against Scotland, providing one assist (for Troy Parrott) and scoring his first goal, before a groin strain saw Obafemi substituted five minutes after scoring, being replaced by Scott Hogan.[23][24] His start in the 22 March 2023 home friendly 3–2 win by the Republic over Latvia, saw Obafemi provide the assist for Evan Ferguson’s first international goal.[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 29 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Southampton U21/U23 2016–17[26] ———0000
2017–18[27] ———2[lower-alpha 1]020
2018–19[28] ———1[lower-alpha 1]111
Total ———3131
Southampton 2017–18[27] Premier League 100000—10
2018–19[28] Premier League 610010—71
2019–20[29] Premier League 2132021—254
2020–21[30] Premier League 400010—50
2021–22[31] Premier League 00—10—10
Total 3242051—395
Swansea City 2021–22[31] Championship 321210——3312
2022–23[32] Championship 193—00—193
Total 51151051—5215
Burnley (loan) 2022–23[32] Championship 12220——142
Burnley 2023–24[33] Premier League 000000—00
Career total 952150513110823
  1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

International
As of match played 19 June 2023[34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Republic of Ireland 201810
202262
202340
Total112

Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Michael Obafemi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
111 June 2022Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Scotland3–03–02022–23 UEFA Nations League B
227 September 2022Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Armenia2–03–22022–23 UEFA Nations League B

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. "Michael Obafemi: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  3. "Former Ryan FC player Michael Obafemi makes Premier League debut". Ryan FC. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  4. Aidan Fitzmaurice (21 January 2018). "'I can't stop here' - Irish youngster makes his Premier League debut...and now he wants more". Independent.ie. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  5. O'Hehir, Paul (4 April 2019). "It was never a choice for Michael Obafemi - he only wanted to play for Ireland". Dublin Live. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  6. Anka, Carl (2 September 2019). "Two London boys trying to make their mark on the south coast – meet Ramsay and Obafemi". The Athletic. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  7. Paul Fennessy. "17-year-old Irish striker makes debut in Southampton's Premier League clash". The42. Journal Media. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. Henson, Mike (21 January 2018). "Southampton 1–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  9. Oscroft, Tim (22 December 2018). "Huddersfield Town 1 Southampton 3". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  10. "Michael Obafemi: Swansea City sign Southampton and Republic of Ireland striker". BBC Sport. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  11. Vincent, Gareth (23 October 2021). "Birmingham City 2–1 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  12. Fitzmaurice, Aidan (16 September 2022). "Michael Obafemi is told he must earn right to get back into Swansea team". The Independent Ireland. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  13. "Michael Obafemi leaves Swansea City to join Burnley on loan". Swansea City AFC. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  14. "Michael Obafemi: Burnley sign Republic of Ireland striker from Swansea City". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  15. "Michael Obafemi: Martin O'Neill won't rush Southampton player to make international decision". BBC Sport. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  16. "Michael Obafemi: Southampton starlet commits to the Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  17. Michael Obafemi – UEFA competition record (archive)
  18. Paul Fennessy (6 November 2018). "18-year-old Southampton striker earns praise after first Ireland call-up". The42. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  19. Ben Blake (6 November 2018). "Nigerian-eligible Southampton teenager among four new call-ups in Ireland squad". The42. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  20. "Denmark 0 Republic of Ireland 0". BBC Sport. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  21. Paul Dollery (19 November 2018). "Proud Obafemi 'never had any doubts' about representing Ireland". The42. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  22. "'Michael got the crowd on the edge of their seats, he was running 70 yards with the ball'". The 42. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  23. Brewin, John (11 June 2022). "Ireland 3-0 Scotland: minute-by-minute". www.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  24. Gault, Matt (11 June 2022). "Republic of Ireland 3 Scotland 0". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  25. Leahy, Ed (22 March 2023). "Chiedozie Ogbene secures hard-fought Ireland win against Latvia as Evan Ferguson opens his account". RTE Sport. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  26. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  27. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  28. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  29. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  30. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  31. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  32. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  33. "Games played by Michael Obafemi in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  34. "Obafemi, Michael". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
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